Omega to invest USD 6 mn, hit 15K headcount in two years

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Omega Healthcare has diversified into insurance and pharma, deploying technology and services. The Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) leader, with a compounded annual growth rate of 25 pc, will continue to focus on Bengaluru, Chennai and Tiruchy to expand its operations.

Gopi Natarajan

Chennai:

It plans to raise its people count by 2,000 in the next couple of years, while targeting newer geographies like the Middle East for sustaining growth momentum.

Gopi Natarajan, Omega’s Co-founder and CEO, said such an exercise will mean an investment of $4 to 6 million, aimed at driving the newer segments of growth it has identified. The 15-year-old company with seven delivery centres and 12 facilities, employs 13,000 plus people. It is keen to position itself as a technology company. “We have 150-odd people as part of our Omega Tech team, which focuses on robotic process automation and other relevant new generation products,” he said, adding nine data scientists have been on boarded recently as part of this mission.

Omega is working on 6-7 products that include a medical coding tool which is in the pilot stage. “Our resource instead of coding can now be involved in audit work. Apart from raising accuracy, the product will bring in efficiencies that will mean a huge cost savings of 20 to 25 pc,” he sought to explain.

Despite the brouhaha over outsourcing and the Trump administration in the US seemingly tightening rules in the IT sector, Omega is upbeat. “The healthcare industry is growing tremendously and the increased complexities have only created business opportunities for us. The interesting trend in the US of the minimum wages being raised means the scope for expanding outsourcing and leveraging the labour arbitrage that players like us have,” Natarajan said.

In the US, it claims to have recently bagged three large deals bidding against IT companies such as Cognizant and other niche players. Omega’s fledgling subsidiary Whitespace (via an acquisition done two years ago) is a key catalyst for growth. “As the healthcare model is different in other geographies, we are evaluating opportunities. We are pursuing a few deals in the ME, which is an interesting market.”

Omega’s operations in Philippines, focused on clinical services contribute about 11 per cent of its revenues while the balance is from India. “We expect that country to generate 15 to 20 per cent of our revenues within three years,” Nata﻿rajan said.